COLLIER FRUIT GROWERS

NEWSLETTER

FEBRUARY 2015

Next Meeting is February 9th, the 2nd Monday because of the holiday! At the Golden Gate Community Center, 4701 Golden Gate Parkway

7:00 pm for the tasting table and 7:30 pm for the meeting/program.

Our February speaker is Steve Cucura on Fruit Trees for Southwest Florida.

Steve is the owner and grower at Fruitscapes, a fruit tree nursery and fruit market in Bokeelia. Steve has long been a fruit tree grower on Pine Island and is now the largest grower of tree stock on the island. Along with fruit groves, there is their fruit market which has picked fruit, organic vegetables and plants available. Check out their website at www.floridafruitscapes.com.

Steve will deliver a presentation on the best fruit trees for Southwest Florida. Steve will be our vendor at the sale and the talk will prepare us to represent the trees we will be selling.

BURDS NEST OF INFORMATION

CRASH THE PHYLLID PARTY! The citrus trees are pushing new growth, the Asian citrus phyllid calls this PARTY TIME! Let’s be party poopers and take care of them by spraying with a mixture of Farm Soap 1oz per gallon together with Minor Elements (vitamins for the tree). Follow the directions on the bottle: Spray early in the morning or late in the afternoon. Ten days to 2 weeks later, spray them again, except amend it to ½ oz per gallon of the Farm Soap and same amount of the Minor Elements. Why should you do this? It repels the phyllids and feeds the tree through the leaves. WAIT! DON’T PLANT THAT TREE, YET! Resist planting young trees until after mid February and even then, check long range forecasts. In the past, there have been frosts even at the end of February.

T:; K=>?@AB TCD?: Thirteen members visited fruit explorer David Fairchild’s historic home and National Tropical Botanical Garden with the garden’s former horticulturalist and CFG member Crafton Clift Crafton filled the morning and early afternoon with stories and details of the many plants of Kampong. Crafton has a depth of knowledge of

the plants there as he was involved in mapping the estate several times and has long been a fixture in the advancement of fruit tree know-ledge in south Florida. Crafton had many stories of his interaction with the people and plants of the Kampong. Be sure to pick up a copy of his “Remembrances of Kampong” printed by the club.

Page 2 COLLIER FRUIT GROWERS NEWSLETTER

RECIPE OF THE MONTH

This recipe was collected during the club’s recent visit to The Kampong, David Fairchild’s historic home and garden in Coconut Grove, Florida. Several varieties of canistels were sampled as we toured the beautiful property. If you are unfamiliar with this fruit, it tastes similar to a cooked sweet potato or pumpkin and benefits when it is flavored with rum, cinnamon, nutmeg, maple syrup or lime. Give this spicy custardy pie a try!

9” prepared pie crust 1 tsp vanilla 1 8 oz. package cream cheese, room temp 1 tsp ground cinnamon 1 cup sugar ½ tsp ground ginger 3 large eggs ½ tsp ground cloves 1 ½ cups canistel flesh ½ tsp salt Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Combine cream cheese and sugar in mixing bowl and beat until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time and beat until incorporated. Add canistel, vanilla and spices and beat to combine. Pour into unbaked pie shell and bake 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake 35 to 45 minutes until tester inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on rack. Serve at room temperature with whipped cream. Refrigerate leftovers.

CANISTEL PIE

Submitted by Roberta Taylor

Page 3

FEBRUARY 2015

CLUB NOTESCLUB NOTESCLUB NOTESCLUB NOTES

The photos above are from the trip to the Kampong led by Crafton Clift. The photos show Crafton with Director Emeritas Larry Schokman, Crafton with some of the group, and the Miami skyline in front of the Kampong waterfront

FCEDF BDF;: A>G=C;HH= Ambarella originated in South and South East Asia. From there, it spread to other tropical parts of the world. It is a common tree in the home gardens in south East Asian countries. Ambarella is often propagated from seed. The tree grows and starts bearing quickly. Even the seedling starts bearing fruit within four years of planting. The green (unripe) as well as ripe fruits of Ambarella are used in various ways. Ambarella is good source of vitamin C and Iron. Unripe fruit is used in green salads, curries, pickles and sweet candy. Kumari Pamankada

Our Annual Fruit Tree Sale is Sat., February 28th from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm at Freedom Park. Freedom Park is located at 1515 Golden Gate Parkway in Naples between Airport-Pulling and Goodlette-Frank. This is our big event for the year. We need help setting up at the park at 7:30 am and tearing down after 2:00 pm. We need members at a tasting table, information table, and also assisting buyers with their purchases and questions. Please volunteer with David for the tree sale.

DIRECTORS: President, David Etzel — 269-7340

Rodger Taylor, Vice President Melissa Parsons, Treasurer

Jan Etzel, Secretary

DIRECTORS AT LARGE Thamarra Pamankada, Director

Beth Wenner, Director Lisa White, Director

VISIT US AT: www.collierfruit.org

2015 CFG BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Collier Fruit Growers Inc. c/o Jan-Marie Etzel

8768 Ibis Cove Circle

Naples, FL 34119

FEBRUARY 2015

FRUIT NEWS

The Collier Fruit Growers Inc. (CFG) is an active organization dedicated to inform, educate and advise its members as well as the public, as to the propagation of the many varieties of fruits that can be grown in Collier County. The CFG is also actively engaged in the distribution of the many commonly grown fruits, as well as the rare tropical and subtropical fruits grown throughout the world. CFG encourages its members to extend their cultivation by providing a basis for researching and producing new cultivars and hybrids, whenever possible. CFG functions without regard to race, color or national origin.

REMEMBER TO RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP!

FUTURE MEETINGS: March 16th and April 20th